Deck 9: Cognitive Development: The Information-Processing Approach

Question 1

From the information-processing approach, what process is a child using when knowledge and strategies previously acquired from problem solutions are employed to modify responses to new situations or problems?

A) Generalization
B) Self-modification
C) Adaptation
D) Basic analysis

Answer 1

Self-modification

Question 2

The process of changing information that has reached our sensory registers into mental representations is referred to as

A) encoding.
B) representation.
C) assimilation.
D) conditioning.

Answer 2

encoding.

Question 3

Which of the following statements regarding strategies is NOT true?

A) Strategies can be applied at all levels of the information-processing system.
B) Strategies are conscious cognitive or behavioral activities used to enhance mental performance.
C) The main purpose of a strategy is to increase the efficiency of the information-processing system.
D) Strategies are specific to each task and cannot be generalized to other tasks.

Answer 3

Strategies are specific to each task and cannot be generalized to other tasks.

Question 4

According to information-processing theories, which of the following statements is NOT one of the ways the human brain is similar to a computer?

A) Both the mind and the computer are limited in the amount and nature of information that can be processed.
B) Changes occur over time in both the mind and the computer that can aid in the processing of information.
C) Both the mind and the computer process information through the use of rules and strategies.
D) Both require old information to be replaced by newer information that is input into the system.

Question 5

A critical assumption of the information-processing system is that over the course of development, children's thought processes become increasingly

A) more efficient.
B) more complex.
C) more active.
D) more involved.

Question 6

Which information-processing model focuses on the flow of information through the mental system as it is processed?

A) Connectionist model
B) Multistore model
C) Neo-Piagetian model
D) Strategy construction model

Question 7

According to multistore model, information-processing involves three separate memory stores; these stores are

A) sensory register, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
B) sensory register, sensory store, and sensory retrieval.
C) sensory store, temporary storage, and classification.
D) attention, recognition, and storage.

Question 8

Two limits to human cognition are the amount of information that can be processed and

A) the speed of processing.
B) the amount of time that one can attend to a particular problem.
C) understanding of stimuli.
D) organization of information.

Question 9

Which one of the following beliefs is NOT characteristic of the information-processing approach?

A) Thinking is information processing.
B) Change mechanisms work separately to impact upon cognitive abilities.
C) Development is driven by the process of self-modification.
D) A child's performance is influenced by the task or situation in which he or she is problem-solving.

Question 10

Microgenetic analysis involves

A) careful study of the ways in which genes contribute to development.
B) detailed examination of how a child solves a problem over a single episode or over several episodes that occur close in time.
C) computerized mapping of changes in brain functioning.
D) analysis of developmental changes only visible under a microscope.

Question 11

Executive control processes are important because they reflect

A) an individual's control over his or her environmental surroundings.
B) the active role of the person in regulating cognitive processing.
C) children's unconscious ability to choose the best strategy in a particular situation.
D) the ways in which other people help guide the strategies we use for particular problems.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT one of the four key mechanisms of developmental change?

A) Encoding
B) Strategy construction
C) Perception
D) Automatization

Question 13

An executive control structure

A) is a child's developmental level of functioning.
B) is a pattern of neural connections.
C) is the part of the brain that controls long-term memory.
D) guides children with strategies to use for solving problems.

Question 14

Which of the following processes would NOT be of interest to an advocate or theorist of the information-processing approach to cognitive development?

A) Encoding and representation
B) Strategy construction
C) Scaffolding
D) Automatization

Question 15

Developmental research using the multistore model would most likely focus on changes in

A) parallel distributed processing.
B) executive control structure.
C) short-term memory strategies and how these impact long-term memory.
D) the zone of proximal development.

Question 16

The simultaneous processing of information spread in various ways throughout the network of neural connections is called

A) parallel distributed processing.
B) executive control structure.
C) connection processing.
D) generalization.

Question 17

According to connectionist models, development is the result of

A) improvement in the strategies used to solve problems.
B) changes in the strength and pattern of neural networks.
C) maturation in short-term memory.
D) movement from relational control structures to dimensional control structures.

Question 18

According to research by Chi, children's memories for certain tasks may not be a function of memory per se, but rather a function of

A) experience.
B) age.
C) organization.
D) practice.

Question 19

When Sue first learned how to play the piano, she frequently had to stop to figure out which note went with which key. However, after many months of lessons and practicing, she no longer finds herself doing this. Information-processing theorists refer to this as

A) strategy.
B) generalization.
C) automatization.
D) encoding.

Question 20

Theorists who advocate the information-processing approach in the study of cognitive development tend to use the computer as a

A) primary tool for data analysis.
B) simulator of human thinking instead of doing human experimentation.
C) metaphor or model of human thought.
D) depository of developmental information.

Question 21

Basic capacities of the memory system include all of the following EXCEPT

A) memory span.
B) the efficiency of memory processing.
C) the length of time it takes to retrieve information from long-term memory.
D) speed of processing.

Question 22

The intake of information from the surrounding environment, and the way each of us gives this information meaning, are referred to as

A) sensation.
B) perception.
C) learning.
D) development.

Question 23

Young children tend to use _______ search strategies for acquiring information, while older children tent to use _______ search strategies.

A) exhaustive; selective
B) selective; exhaustive
C) efficient; inefficient
D) instinctual; learned

Question 24

Research on distraction suggests that

A) distraction can sometimes facilitate children's learning performance.
B) older children cannot concentrate on a learning task if sounds such as typing or children's music are played in the room.
C) involvement in a task does not have an impact on distractibility.
D) children cannot ignore distracters until they reach school age.

Question 25

According to information-processing theorists, a child's ability to gain increasing amounts of information from a situation results from developmental interaction between

A) perceptual capabilities and attentional strategies.
B) educational opportunities and biological maturation.
C) learning experiences and reinforcement history.
D) cognition and social interaction.

Question 26

Semantic memory is

A) memory for specific events.
B) memory for world knowledge and facts.
C) autobiographical memory.
D) memory for the ways in which sentences are constructed.

Question 27

Ray has been asked to perform a series of memory tasks for local researchers. The first task is for Ray to remember a series of numbers and then repeat them back to the examiner. The first series given to Ray was 176514921100. Ray easily remembered these numbers because he used a strategy called __________, in which he grouped the numbers into 1765; 1492; 1100.

A) chunking
B) seriation
C) automation
D) organization

Question 28

Young children are capable of utilizing a plan or strategy to filter through information

A) when the task involves unusual items.
B) when the task is engaging.
C) when the strategy utilizes a color-coded system.
D) when the strategy involves symbolism.

Question 29

In which of the following information presented on a television program are children most interested and likely to attend?

A) Unimportant facts not relevant to the plot
B) Highly complex information
C) The visual content of a program
D) The audio content of a program

Question 30

Which of the following descriptions is INCORRECT?

A) Young children are more easily distracted than older children and adults.
B) Older children spend more time with their attention directed at a task.
C) The ability to attend remains relatively constant throughout childhood.
D) Young children are less distractible after they become fully engaged in a task.

Question 31

Studies of the effects of selective attention on learning find that

A) older children are no better than younger children in their ability to focus on relevant information.
B) younger children focus more on irrelevant information than relevant information.
C) younger children attend to both irrelevant and relevant information.
D) older children use more selective attention, but it does not help them remember more information.

Question 32

The ability to focus on different or specific aspects of the environment is

A) habituation.
B) discrimination.
C) sensation.
D) attention.

Question 33

The two main theories that address the ways in which experience affects perceptual learning and development are

A) enrichment theory and differentiation theory.
B) information-processing theory and cognitive development theory.
C) feature detection theory and attention theory.
D) existential theory and diffusion theory.

Question 34

As children become older, memory span increases because

A) of expansion in brain capacity.
B) their vocabulary improves.
C) their strategies for remembering improve.
D) the necessity to remember information increases.

Question 35

Chad and Suzie are in the same classroom at Eureka Elementary School. Chad listens intently to the teacher as he describes the children's homework assignment. Suzie, however, is watching the raindrops splash off the window by the desk. Both children are involved in what aspect of cognition?

A) Daydreaming
B) Attention
C) Deficiency
D) Perception

Question 36

Case attributes children's increased cognitive efficiency to

A) an increased basic capacity and having more available strategies.
B) generalization and automatization.
C) the scaffolding they receive from more knowledgeable others.
D) streamlining of executive control structures and biological maturation.

Question 37

An important developmental change in information-processing efficiency is that

A) memory systems become more efficient as space in working memory becomes available with increased use of memory strategies.
B) short-term storage and long-term storage capacity is steadily increased.
C) information in long-term storage is continually dumped, freeing up conceptual space.
D) construction space and organizational space steadily increase with age.

Question 38

Children perform better on planning tasks when

A) they work alone.
B) they work with an partner.
C) the task is complex.
D) they are given a time limit.

Question 39

Which of the following areas of memory do NOT tend to show greater strength and efficiency with development?

A) The capacity of long-term memory
B) Strategies or actions that enhance the transfer of information to long-term memory
C) The basic capacities of short-term memory
D) World knowledge or the larger context of knowledge

Question 40

Explicit memory is

A) memory that requires overt effort during storage.
B) memory for very simple information
C) the same as unintentional memory.
D) memory that does not require organization.

Question 41

A utilization deficiency is

A) failure to be able to learn a strategy.
B) failure to be able to produce a strategy spontaneously.
C) failure to be able to profit from a strategy that has been learned.
D) failure to understand why strategies are useful.

Question 42

One way to help children use an organizing strategy to help them remember is to

A) tell them a story that includes the items they are asked to remember.
B) encourage them to do their best on the task.
C) give them a contextual cue to help them think about categories.
D) give them fewer items to recall.

Question 43

What strategy can improve memory recall, despite the fact that its very use increases the amount of information to be remembered?

A) Rehearsal
B) Elaboration
C) Categorization
D) Expansion

Question 44

Which of the following statements is FALSE with respect to how good or reliable children are as witnesses?

A) Children who merely observe the event are more susceptible to misleading suggestions than children who actually participate in the event.
B) Intimidating interviewers tend to elicit more accurate information than kind interviewers.
C) The type of question and how many times it is asked affects children's accuracy.
D) Young children are more affected by inaccurate information than older children.

Question 45

The narrative form is an account of an event that

A) has little meaning for a child.
B) can enhance children's memories by sequencing them and giving them meaningful context.
C) is told to the child by a third person narrator but is about the child's own life.
D) focuses on the actions and leaves out the emotional aspects of an event.

Question 46

Three children in Mrs. Applegarter's room have been shown a series of pictures with letters on them. The children are to memorize these pictures in the correct order within 5 minutes. Upon observing the children during this time, it is noticed that two of the children's lips are moving as they silently memorize the photographs. What memory strategy are they probably making use of?

A) Cheating
B) Whispering
C) Rehearsal
D) Activation

Question 47

When children categorize and label information in order to facilitate remembering they are using what memory strategy?

A) Organization
B) Elaboration
C) Rehearsal
D) Expansion

Question 48

The strategy that adds information to that being remembered in order to make it more meaningful, and thus easier to place into long-term memory, is

A) categorization.
B) rehearsal.
C) expansion.
D) elaboration.

Question 49

Enhancing the meaningfulness of the context of remembering

A) can be distracting to children.
B) is only effective at improving memory if parents are working with the children.
C) usually makes it difficult to determine the goal of a memory task.
D) enhances memory because remembering is embedded in a goal-directed situation.

Question 50

Which of the following statements regarding memory strategies is true?

A) Strategies such as rehearsal, organization, and elaboration are used separately for different memory tasks.
B) Multiple strategies are used by adults in memory tasks, but even adolescents seem unable to use multiple strategies to help them remember.
C) Children in middle childhood have been found to use a variety of strategies on memory tasks.
D) Rehearsal is the simplest memory strategy that is effective for most tasks.

Question 51

What type of a relationship exists between age and the spontaneous use of verbal rehearsal as a memory strategy?

A) Positive
B) Negative
C) Inverse
D) Unknown

Question 52

What type of deficiency is thought to exist if younger children simply cannot make use of the strategies that will help them remember?

A) Attentional deficiency
B) Production deficiency
C) Reproduction deficiency
D) Mediational deficiency

Question 53

Karina is putting pictures of objects she is supposed to memorize into categories. She is putting all of the fruits together and all of the clothing items together. Which memory strategy does she seem to be using?

A) Rehearsal
B) Elaboration
C) Organization
D) Facilitation

Question 54

One of the simplest strategies to aid memory recall is to repeat either in your head or aloud the information to be remembered. This strategy is known as

A) perseveration.
B) repetition.
C) rehearsal.
D) practice.

Question 55

Developmental changes in processing speed

A) are simply due to practice with particular tasks.
B) occur at different rates in different cultural groups.
C) are similar for different tasks such as reading comprehension, memory retrieval, and visual search.
D) plateau in early childhood, at which point children are able to process information as quickly as adults.

Question 56

Utilization deficiencies may occur because children

A) are unable to learn the strategy.
B) may not use the strategy consistently.
C) have used the strategy so much they become bored with it.
D) prefer to use more advanced strategies.

Question 57

To what did Rogoff and Waddell attribute the differences in performance between American and Mayan children on a culturally familiar memory recognition task?

A) The use of spatial relationships to organize their memories enhanced the performance of the Mayan children.
B) The use of spatial relationships to organize their memories enhanced the performance of the American children.
C) The use of rehearsal strategies enhanced the performance of the Mayan children.
D) The use of rehearsal strategies enhanced the performance of the American children.

Question 58

Pressley and colleagues were able to illustrate

A) even preschoolers can be instructed in elaboration strategies to aid remembering information.
B) the importance of environmental cues in memory.
C) the importance of word order in memory.
D) the importance of rewards in memory.

Question 59

When young children know certain strategies for remembering, but fail to generate and use these strategies spontaneously, then what type of deficiency is thought to exist?

A) Production deficiency
B) Reproduction deficiency
C) Attentional deficiency
D) Mediational deficiency

Question 60

employed culturally familiar contexts. The results of this study

A) supported previous research finding performance deficits in nonliterate societies.
B) found comparable abilities in both groups, with the Mayan children performing slightly better.
C) found the Mayan children outperforming the American children.
D) indicated that the culturally familiar contexts decreased performance in both groups, especially for the Mayan children.

Question 61

When young children rely on familiar routines and sequences of events in order to understand and remember details, they are probably using a

A) map.
B) prediction.
C) script.
D) direction.

Question 62

Scripts

A) provide a basic outline for what one can expect in a situation.
B) are used by children, but rarely used by adults.
C) are found only in adults.
D) are something you must rehearse mentally in order to remember.

Question 63

Which of the following situations would NOT improve children's ability to use an analogy as a problem-solving strategy?

A) When children are given a hint to help recall what they were supposed to be referring to
B) When the goals of the task are highlighted
C) When the objects are conceptually related instead of perceptually similar
D) When multiple examples of problem solving take place

Question 64

Siegler suggests that with development, children

A) make strategy choices that are increasingly better adapted to the task at hand.
B) use rule-based reasoning instead of other strategies to solve problems.
C) use analogies and this is what results in improved problem-solving competence.
D) no longer need the help of others to solve a problem.

Question 65

Siegler's research on rule-based problem solving using the balance-scale task suggests that

A) preshoolers are unable to use rules to solve problems.
B) when there is low memory demand and instructions are repeated, preschoolers can solve a problem with two dimensions.
C) even after they are given repeated instructions, preschoolers have difficulty solving a problem with two dimensions.
D) most preschoolers can solve a problem with two dimensions without any instructions.

Question 66

The correct order of the steps involved in the development of children's abilities to form cognitive maps is

A) landmark knowledge, route knowledge, developing mental maps.
B) route knowledge, developing mental maps, landmark knowledge.
C) route knowledge, landmark knowledge, developing mental maps.
D) landmark knowledge, developing mental maps, route knowledge.

Question 67

A few weeks before school starts, Natalie and her daughter, Sophie, age 5, have a "Mom Day," which for the past several years has entailed going shopping for school clothes and eating lunch at a restaurant. This year, however, Dad has a vacation day from work on the scheduled "Mom Day" and would like to come along. Sophie protests by saying, "but that's not the way we do it!" This protest indicates that Sophie's __________ for this event was violated.

A) script
B) anticipation
C) interest
D) map

Question 68

Scripts may reflect some of the basic properties of the human memory system because the human memory system is designed to remember

A) complicated information that is relevant to the self.
B) details of recurrent events and routine behaviors.
C) long sequences of information.
D) visual information rather than auditory information.

Question 69

According to Piaget, what would the following deduction be called? "If Jeff is taller than Bob, and Bob is taller than Steve, then Jeff is taller than Steve."

A) Inquisitive reasoning
B) Transitive reasoning
C) Hypothetical reasoning
D) Qualitative reasoning

Question 70

Which of the following statements about cognitive tools is NOT true?

A) In most cultures, cognitive tools are not used by children until they reach adolescence.
B) Cognitive tools are products of culture.
C) Cognitive tools mediate cognitive activity.
D) Cognitive tools provide structure to mental activities and help guide thinking.

Question 71

A child who understands that calicos are types of cats, but that not all cats are calicos, has the ability to use a form of logical reasoning known as

A) hierarchical categorization.
B) specialization.
C) zoological abbreviations.
D) inclusive grouping.

Question 72

Frank is learning to understand how the new computer in his office works by comparing it to his previous job as an office assistant, where he typed and filed documents in a law firm. This is most likely an attempt to solve the new problem by using what memory strategy?

A) Recognition
B) Simulation
C) Objectives
D) Analogy

Question 73

According to DeLoache, the reason why young children have difficulty using models as representations of actual objects is because young children

A) do not understand object permanence.
B) are egocentric.
C) are unable to form a dual representation.
D) cannot use landmarks efficiently.

Question 74

When a child or adult solves a problem because of its similarity to another problem, he/she is employing a(n)

A) opposition.
B) analogy.
C) example.
D) construction.

Question 75

In order to be able to negotiate their way spatially in an environment, children rely on

A) cognitive maps.
B) books.
C) instructions.
D) compasses.

Question 76

on propositional reasoning finds that

A) children cannot solve logical syllogisms until they have reached the stage of formal operations.
B) most adults who have reached formal operations cannot solve logical syllogisms.
C) even young children can solve very simple logical syllogisms.
D) logical syllogisms are used in every culture to measure intelligence.

Question 77

Imelia is going to her favorite restaurant today for lunch. She been there numerous times before and knows where to sit, how to order her favorite meal, and how to behave when the food arrives. Because this fun lunchtime routine is familiar to her, cognitive theorists would say she has developed an internal __________ of what should occur at the restaurant.

A) frame
B) map
C) analogy
D) script

Question 78

According to Siegel and colleagues, the use of route knowledge involves

A) being able to draw maps on paper.
B) the ability to combine different routes into an understanding of spatial relations.
C) the recognition of a landmark.
D) integrating several different landmarks together into a sequence.

Question 79

Shared conversations about the past

A) are unique to particular cultural groups.
B) help children acquire knowledge about themselves, but have no impact on children's knowledge about the world in which they live.
C) occur less than once a week in most families.
D) help tie memories to something of personal relevance for children.

Question 80

A person's memory of specific events, times, or places in their lives is called

A) semantic memory.
B) narrative memory.
C) autobiographical memory.
D) rehearsed memory.